


Bittersweet Dreaming

by NeuroticNygma



Series: Batman/Fallout AU [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batman/Fallout AU, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Kinda Dark fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 12:08:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13387491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeuroticNygma/pseuds/NeuroticNygma
Summary: This was not the first time he had dreamt such nightmares and it surely wouldn’t be the last.





	Bittersweet Dreaming

His vision was blurred, but he knew he was somewhere familiar. That somewhere was warm and comforting thanks to the body that had its arms wrapped around him. With his vision becoming clearer, he looked up at the man who was so protectively holding him. A thin, pale face with a light dusting of freckles from cheek to cheek sleepily peered down at him with the most intense pair of blue eyes he’d ever seen. Somewhere deep in him, he was confused as to why Jonathan was beside him, but he dismissed it and continued enjoying the closeness. Jonathan’s mouth moved as he spoke, although his voice seemed muffled and it was not easy to make out what was said. It must have been something nice as Edward felt himself smile and lift his head up to plant a soft kiss to Jonathan’s lips, who in turn held him tighter in an attempt to steal the kiss for a little longer. After pulling away, Edward brought up a hand to Jonathan’s face and gently ran his knuckles across his cheek, earning a small smile from his partner. A freckled hand gently clasped Edward’s as Jonathan kissed it, then his forehead before letting go and lazily getting out of bed and disappearing into the en-suite. Taking the other’s lead Edward got up and proceeded to shuffle into the kitchen, noting to himself that his body had a numb feeling to it, like he was in his body, but also not at the same time. He contemplated this as he put the kettle on and set two cups down, filling them with a spoonful of coffee each.

  
He smiled as he heard footsteps behind him enter the kitchen. Edward turned to face who he expected to be Jonathan, but was shocked to find a blurred mass standing there. Edward shakily called out to Jonathan, only to get distorted speech from the mass in return. Edward tried to keep his nerve as he began to back away from whatever was now in his kitchen, eyeing up a knife from the corner of his vision. The blurred figured made a step towards Edward, more distorted noises emanating from it and tried to reach out to him. Edward quickly grabbed the knife from the counter and pointed it directly at the mass. Despite having held a knife to many a criminal in his life time without his heart even quickening it’s beating, he now found himself panicking, his body feeling clammy as sweat started to break out over his skin, the knife in his hand shaking ever so slightly as terror burrowed its way into his very core. Keeping his eyes firmly on the mass, Edward called out to Jonathan once more. He got no response. The mass took another step towards Edward, its shape starting to shift into something more human like. In the blink of an eye, the mass took the form of a very much despised and feared Arkham guard, one that particularly liked to pick on Edward and make his life hell. He swung at Edward with that all too familiar baton he used and Edward just managed to dodge the attack. Gripping the knife tightly, Edward bolted back to the bedroom and quickly locked the door. He threw the knife on the bed and immediately grabbed a hold of the dresser. Using as much of his energy as he could muster, Edward started to drag the dresser towards the door in hopes it would make a good enough barricade to keep the guard out. Pushing it up against the door as much as he could, he ran back over to the bed, grabbing the knife and baking up into the corner of the room.

  
Sudden pounding on the door sent Edward’s heart into his throat. His breathing quickened and pupils dilated in anticipation of what was to come. He wished Jonathan was here to hold him, to give him the emotional boost he needed to stand up confidently against this. But he wasn’t and so all Edward could do was focus on slowing his breathing. Distorted screeching came from the door and the pounding got louder, more forceful. Edward watched the door as it began to creak and bow with the force of the blows. Edward started looking around the room for something more substantial than a knife. He hurriedly looked in the bedside cabinet drawers, threw the pillows off the bed in case there was something underneath them. Looking under the bed yielded nothing for him. He was sure he and Jonathan kept at least one gun in their room for emergencies. There came a loud clunk as the lock on the door was finally broken and Edward backed up into the corner again, knife poised in front of him. He watched as the guard pushed through the door, the dresser not much of a challenge for them as it was easily moved aside. Out of nothing but fear, Edward called out for Jonathan one last time as the guard made another lunge at him, missing once again as he ducked out the way. Edward tried to crawl across the bed to escape, but felt his leg being pulled back as the guard swiftly grabbed it. He thrashed about, trying to kick the guard off him with his free leg as they began to laugh, in that usual eerie and distorted way. Edward screamed out in anger and managed to clip the guard in the face with his foot and knocked them back into the wall. With the guard momentarily dazed, he took this opportunity to attack. Scrambling to his feet, Edward drove the knife as hard as he could into the guard’s gut. His fear was replaced with a surge of white hot anger and he soon found himself on auto pilot as he watched the knife repeatedly plunge in and out of the guard.

  
At some point, Edward had closed his eyes during the act, feeling only the wetness on his skin from the blood that had splattered onto it. His fear and anger had dissipated, his breathing becoming normal and a sense of relief washed over him. Until he heard coughing and a gurgled, familiar voice call his name. Edward’s eyes shot open and he looked up, the colour draining from his face as Jonathan’s looked back at him. The knife clattered on the hardwood floor, Edward now holding onto Jon as he slumped to the ground with him. The man’s breathing was laboured, wheezing with every breath as he stared at nothing and only barely registered Edward shaking him as he called his name over and over, muttering apologies in between each. Jonathan’s eyes slowly set themselves on Edward’s face, tracing the tears that now trailed down his cheeks and began to blend with the blood that had found its way there. Using what little energy he had left, he shakily raised a hand to Edward’s cheek and gently brushed away a tear. Not a moment after, Jon’s hand fell limp and hit the floor and the rest of his body grew heavy as his last breath left his lungs and his life diminished. Edward gently let go of Jon and sat there silently staring at his body. He was completely numb. A thought flashed through his mind on the realisation he now had nothing good in his life. The only thing that had bought him any joy in his life had been extinguished, by his own hand no less. He screamed and suddenly everything was deafeningly loud.

  
Edward sat upright as he was ripped from his sleep. His heart was thumping in his chest so hard he could feel it in his ears. His breathing was rapid and he could feel the slick wetness of sweat all over him and the dampness of his tattered bed sheets. He took his shirt off and used it to wipe his face and chest of sweat and threw it on the floor as he got up and walked to the bathroom. Flicking on the light, he braced his hands on the edge of the sink as he closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts for a moment before turning on the cold tap and splashing water on his face. Grabbing a towel after shutting off the water, he sat down against the hard tile wall and the instant chill from it made his hairs stand up on end. After wiping his face dry, he buried his face in the towel and let out a long sigh. This was not the first time he had dreamt such nightmares and it surely wouldn’t be the last.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first dabble into writing for quite a while now, so I hope this goes down well.  
> Hopefully I'll be adding more to this series in the future!


End file.
